Here To Serve

“…what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and your soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12

Today was a very significant day for us. My husband and I celebrated 25 years of marriage! Twenty-five years…it is just a blink. The older I get, the faster time flies. It was a nice quiet day of celebration. All upcoming celebrations will have a different feel to it right now, as one is missing from those celebrations. We normally go for a drive through the Baccelieu Trail on our anniversary every year. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Cavendish, NL, 25 years ago on our honeymoon, so we love our drive in that area every year — with our annual pictures at the community signs to Heart’s Delight, Heart’s Desire, and Heart’s Content! This year we decided to take the kids and Dad along for the drive. It was a nice distraction, but we easily missed Mom on this day.

I was thinking back over our years together, and I am so thankful to the Lord for not only bringing us together as husband and wife, but carrying us through many mountaintop, and many valley, experiences. I believe that we have been able to make it to 25 years because of the Lord’s hand in our lives. It is His love, grace and mercy that has kept us all these years.

My mind also went back to shortly after leaving the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Dad and I were battle-weary at the time, and although we did not receive the outcome we were so desperately praying for, we chose to submit to the Lord and to His plan. Dad made a statement at that time that was so simple, yet so poignant. He said that God does not serve us, we serve God. In essence, even though we were praying and believing for a particular outcome, the Lord is sovereign; He really does not have to answer to us. We may not understand, but we have to learn to trust and serve Him through it all.

I have always reminded myself that God is not my genie or vending machine. He is not someone to send a wish to or to punch in your selection for a particular outcome in life. Some people live in that kind of mentality. They only pray or go to God when things in their lives are in need of fixing. They punch in their requests, and if they don’t receive the outcome that they want, they get upset, give up, or walk away from God. But, our Lord is so much more than that! And we are called to serve Him, not the other way around. Although He does not have to serve us, He still displayed a true servant’s heart by laying down His own life for us.

Jesus is our loving Saviour. He owes us nothing, but gave us everything. He paid a price for us on the cross that we never deserved. We were the ones who deserved to die, but He willingly gave His life for us. We owe Him our lives. There is an honour in serving when we understand how much the Lord truly loves us.

The same goes for marriage. Too many people today are focussed on selfish gain, and what they can get out of others. But true love shines the brightest when self is laid down and we humbly serve one another. This is not slavery. To be a slave, service must be forced. But truly serving others from the heart, is done willingly; showing the deepest care and love for one another with no ulterior motives. This requires hard work, but the work is worth it!

When we approach the Lord with a servant’s heart and serve Him with love and humility, it is easier to walk through those difficult days in our lives. He is the Almighty God. He has a plan and a purpose for each life on this earth. We may never fully understand why things happen to us on this side of eternity, but if we could only see the end from the beginning and what the Lord sees, we would rest in His perfect will.

Soon we will know. Jesus is coming back to this earth again. And I believe He is coming soon. Until then, I pray that the Lord will grant me the strength and grace to help me serve Him in the good times and the bad times.

Lord, I’m here to serve.